He'brew Hop Manna IPA
Shmaltz Brewing Company

Shmaltz Brewing Co. "Hop Manna IPA"
16 fl. oz. can seemingly without production codes or freshnesh dating

Notes via stream of consciousness: And it's a gusher!!! I still got mostly all of it as I let it foam halfway into my imperial pint glass and then let what was left in the can settle down as well. This is not a good omen. It's a cloudy golden-amber in color beneath what's now a short head of off-white foam. That's not a good omen either. If a beer has foamed up to form a massive head it should at least hold once it falls back to what would normally be average but what I have left is just a thin cap with a little bit of foam rising up around the edges. We'll have to see how it goes from here. The aroma is quite floral but there's also some yeast to it. The malt is sweetish and bready. On to the taste... It's not as yeasty or floral as the nose lets on which is a good thing. I like the floral side but not the yeasty side. The malt remains sweetish and bready but it also has some light caramel to it and a touch of honey. The hops remain floral but there's also some pine to it. There's even a bit of citrus to it as well but it's not bright. Considering that this can has been kept cold for a few weeks and it still gushed I'm assuming that it's old but without any production codes or freshness dating how can I tell? I can't, so I'll have to review it as it is. On that note, it doesn't seem oxidized but oxidation doesn't start at "paper and cardboard", it builds up slowly. An increased maltiness is one thing that you'll notice if you tast an older sample side by side with a fresh one. I don't have that option so I can't be sure but it does seem a bit more malty than might be expected. A firm bitterness balances it and it finishes mainly dry with some residual malt fading and then piney and earthy hops lingering. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp - perhaps because it lost some carbonation when it foamed over? I just measured and dumped my remaining 6 ounces - yep, it's a drain-pour. This would have passed perfectly as an IPA back in 1996 but beers have improved since then and life is to short to drink crap beer. If indeed this beer is old that's too bad but they should be using some kind of coding in 2022. Or should I say 2021? As it is, however, I'm quite sure that this is old and I'm going to give it some leeway in scoring as I think I have a good idea of how it would have been when fresh.
Review #8,134

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From notes 1/3/13: Pours a pale amber producing 2+ fingers of creamy, moderately lasting, off-white head that recedes to a clump of surface islands leaving motes and streaks of lace. Aroma is sweet caramel malt, hops = resinous pine and citrus (grapefruit) notes. Taste is caramel malt sweetness balanced with grapefruit pith and resinous pine hops. There is a hint of white fruit in the bitter finish and lasting bitter aftertaste. Pleasantly very dry and bitter!Mouthfeel is medium bodied, dry and lively with pepper and carbonation bite.

 

 

Taste: complex, smooth and semi sweet caramel malt,with some hop piney notes with fresh dry finish. Add a bit of of boozy, bready nose. Copper/amber hue, clear for the most part, delicate broken ring of lace. Medium body, easy to drink IPA. 65 IBUs

05/07/18 on bottle neck
Amber with thick 1+-finger off white frothy head with sticky retention and copious lacing.
Aroma is mainly grapefruit, honeysuckle, grass, and mint. The malt component, while daunting by appearance (aka heavy caramel malt) is pretty unobtrusive with some graham
cracker notes.
Flavor is dominated by a solid blast of bitterness but finished with some nuanced hop flavors including grapefruit, orange, weed, grassy, and mintiness in the finish. The malt backbone is light in caramel character and is mainly solid pale malt with a little toasty note also.
Feel is excellent with lighter than expected body, moderate carbonation, and a dry finish with no alcohol presence. Dangerously quaffable at 7%.
I was pretty impressed by Hop Manna despite it not being the freshest bottle - it does a good job of scratching the hop and bitterness itches while remaining drinkable.